


My Dear Little Seunghyun

by orphan_account



Category: Big Bang (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, GRi - Freeform, Gen, Kid Fic, M/M, Nyongtory, nyongtori
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-20
Updated: 2017-10-20
Packaged: 2019-01-20 02:24:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12423114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Jiyong has promised to protect Little Seunghyun so that when the little boy must keep a secret from their teachers, he does everything he can to keep his promise.





	My Dear Little Seunghyun

**Author's Note:**

> Originally published on asianfanfics.com (circa June 2016, I guess?) prior to account deactivation (boneofmysword/kameleon). This is my personal favorite & I personally want this to be read by people once again. I copied & pasted this from the original file, meaning that there will be errors and mistakes.

 

 

_**“Jiyong, release your hands from Seunghyun!”** _

Even though Miss Dara’s scream managed to reach Jiyong’s ears amidst the shout of the crowds—a crowd of little children who were no older than him and Seunghyun—his body responded to the sting on his cheek instead.

“Look, Miss Bommie! Seunghyun hurts Jiyong! Jiyong is blooding!”

“The right word is _bleeding_ , Mino—wait… Seunghyun!”

Jiyong felt a pair of hands—not Seunghyun’s hands, because they were grabbing him from behind—pulling him away. “Noooooo!!! Don’t, Miss Dara! I must kick Seunghyun again!!!” The little boy frantically flailed his hands to any direction while his legs kicking the empty air—Miss Dara, his teacher, surely had the strength regardless of her tiny body.

“I have to claw Jiyong’s other cheek, Miss Bommie!” screamed the other little boy. “He pulled my hair and slapped my forehead!!!” Seunghyun reached out his hands, struggling to get himself released from the other teacher’s grab by pushing himself forwards.

“No, Jiyong! Your cheek’s bleeding now, I must take you to infirmary, okay?!??” Miss Dara insisted.

“Seunghyun, no!” Miss Bom tightened her grab on Seunghyun’s shoulders, trying to pull the little kid away from Jiyong. “That’s not how you treat your friend!”

“He’s not a friend!”

“He’s not my friend!”

“STOP IT!!!” A loud squeal slipped out from a small, pale boy with a plush panda backpack in his arms. His bright, hazel eyes were directed to the boy who was still jerking his body relentlessly in Miss Dara’s hold. “Stop! Jiyong, stop!”

Upon hearing the voice he knew so much, Jiyong abruptly halted his struggle. His eyes quickly scanned the crowds of children who had been shouting and cheering him and Seunghyun earlier until he found a pair of eyes he adored so much—the pale boy stood in front of the other kids. He squealed happily, “Little Seunghyun!”

The bright eyes didn’t blink as the pale boy walked towards Miss Dara; Little Seunghyun pinned his stare on Jiyong, who smiled widely with stain of blood red on his cheek. “Miss Dara,” he dropped his plush panda and put his hands on his stomach, then bowed politely. “Miss Dara, I am sorry. Jiyong feels sorry too,” his eyes were rounded as he stared at his teacher. “Please release Jiyong, I will take him to… to… to healing room?” The sheepish smile emerged on his face as the little kid had no idea the right term he should use.

Miss Dara smiled upon seeing how flustered the tiny boy standing in front of her. “It’s called _infirmary_ , Little Seunghyun. Your apology’s accepted. But it’s not your fault that Jiyong and Big Seunghyun fought, so Jiyong has to apologize to Big Seunghyun for fighting. Right, Jiyong?”

“No! I won’t say sorry to Seunghyun! Nooooo!!!”

“Yes, you has to!” Seunghyun, still in Miss Bom’s grab, squealed in satisfaction. “You hit my stomach first!”

“Seunghyun, the correct sentence is _you have to_ ,” Miss Bom chided the boy, who was taller than the average kids in her class, sharply. “And you have to apologize to Jiyong too for kicking and clawing him!”

“No!” screamed Jiyong. “Seunghyun has to sorry to Little Seunghyun! He—”

“Jiyong, Seunghyun,” called a man, whose presence itself silenced the boys right away, keeping them frozen on their spot. “You are friends, right? And you know that fighting your friends is not good, right?”

Jiyong gulped. “But… but… Seunghyun… Mr. Yang…”

The man stood right in the middle spot between Jiyong and Seunghyun before bending his knee to level with the kids’ eyes. “There is no ‘but’. Now, both of you will say sorry to each other, okay?” He gave a reassuring smile to each boy alternately. “And promise that you will not hurt each other again. Understood?”

Both Jiyong and Seunghyun didn’t say anything, but they nodded. Miss Dara and Miss Bom released them from their grab, even though they still kept an eye on them since only Satan who knew if Jiyong wouldn’t pushed Seunghyun or Seunghyun wouldn’t grabbed Jiyong’s hair. Much to their luck, the kids bowed to each other and muttered their sorry without any further complaints.

“Little Seunghyun,” called Miss Dara; the plush backpack was already in her hand. “I’ll put your bag to your box. Then, let’s take Jiyong to…”

“To _in-fir-ma-ry_. Yes, Miss.” Little Seunghyun whirled around and hurriedly walked to Jiyong. “Jiyong,” he saw the warmth rushing to Jiyong’s cheeks once he tangled his fingers between Jiyong’s, “let’s go to _in-fir-ma-ry_. We need Mister Dinosaur to heal your cheek.”

“Yes!” Jiyong, not heeding the sting on his cheek, beamed.

 

*

 

“Careful, okay?” Miss Dara told the pale boy, whose brows were knitted and lips pursed tightly.

“Um!” Little Seunghyun answered briefly with a small nod of his head. “Jiyong, don’t move, okay?”

Contrary to the serious expression plastered on Little Seunghyun’s face, the other boy grinned widely while leaning his face close to the pale boy. His cheek no longer bled, even though there was still a few fresh scratches marking the skin. Both of them were sitting on the edge of a bed covered with clean white linen with their short legs dangling. “Yessssss!!!”

The tiny, pale boy carefully stuck one end of the dinosaur-patterned plaster on Jiyong’s cheek, humming a quiet ‘hnnnnnnggggggg’ that continued as he slowly covered the wound. “Done!” Little Seunghyun smiled at Jiyong, patting the plastered scratch with his small fingers. “Shoo, shoo. Pain, go away. Wound, heal soon!”

The wide, gummy grin on Jiyong’s face didn’t fade; it turned wider and nearly made the eyes disappear. “Thank you!”

“Thank you, Little Seunghyun!” The teacher stood up and returned the first aid kit box to the low shelf (—“So the kids can still reach them,” said Mr. Yang). “Now, go back to the class, okay? It’s almost lunch time; you do not want to miss it, right? We have pudding for dessert!”

“Wait! Miss Dara, I have to say something!” The wide grin on Jiyong’s face was swapped with a frown at once as he shifted his stare to his teacher. “Seunghyun… Big Seunghyun, I mean… he also needs to say sorry to Little Seunghyun. He said Little Seunghyun’s new plush panda backpack was ugly!”

The pale boy pinched the other kid’s arm. “Jiyong! I have told you that it is okay!”

Jiyong rubbed the spot where Little Seunghyun pinched him, feeling surprised rather than painful—because Little Seunghyun was a delicate boy who would never hurt anyone. “But… but you looked… sad… when Seunghyun said that…”

The tiny boy shook his head. “I was sad, Jiyong. But that is not good to hit him.”

Nothing came out from Jiyong’s mouth as he stared back at Little Seunghyun, who was giving him a serious look. Even so, Jiyong couldn’t resist the urge to pinch Little Seunghyun’s nose since his serious expression—knitted brows and slightly pouted lower lip—was too endearing for him. Both of them giggled together after Jiyong nipped the small nose with his small fingers.

“Little Seunghyun is right, Jiyong,” the teacher sat next to Jiyong on the bed. “Little Seunghyun did the right thing when he didn’t confront Big Seunghyun after he said that.”

“Hm?” Little Seunghyun blinked, his bright eyes were rounded in curiosity. “What is that, Miss? Con… confrun…”

“It’s _con-front_ , Little Seunghyun. That means challenging someone to fight you.”

The pale little boy nodded his head, muttering ‘con-front’ for a few times. The other boy, however, still had dissatisfaction drawn on his wrinkled forehead and fully-pouting lips.

“What is it, Jiyong? Anything you want to say again?” The teacher put her hand on top of Jiyong’s head, patting it gently.

“But Miss, I…” Jiyong grabbed Little Seunghyun’s hand, making the pale kid squeaked in surprise. “I hate seeing Little Seunghyun sad.” His eyes were drawn back to Little Seunghyun’s rounded hazel eyes as he tightened the hold of his hand. “Little Seunghyun… I don’t want to see _you_ sad.”

“I will never be sad, Jiyong. I have good friends and nice teachers here.” The corners on Little Seunghyun’s lips stretched, flashing a gummy smile full of sincerity. “If you always fight Big Seunghyun, that will make me very, veeeeerrrryyyy saaaaaaadddd!!!”

“But… but if Big Seunghyun says something not good again to you…?”

“I will not _con-front_ him, like what I have done today. Right, Miss Dara?”

The young woman gave a nod. “Right! Try to be like Little Seunghyun, Jiyong. He will be very, veeeeeeerrryyyy saaaaaddd if you always fight Big Seunghyun.” She tousled Jiyong’s hair, a sight that made Little Seunghyun did the same. The teacher smiled seeing how Little Seunghyun’s pale fingers glowed amidst Jiyong’s dark locks. “See? Little Seunghyun really likes you. Are you going to disappoint him by fighting Big Seunghyun almost every day?”

Jiyong was still in his silence. He blinked for several times until he gave a slight nod. “O-okay… I will try to be a good kid. I will not hit Big Seunghyun again…” _But I will kick him if he says something bad to Little Seunghyun_ , he added to himself, but Miss Dara shouldn’t know, right? “But I will always protect Little Seunghyun! I have promised!”

“It’s okay, Jiyong. You can keep your promise, but don’t fight Big Seunghyun again, okay?” The tiny boy put his hand on Jiyong’s cheek, on the spot where the plaster was attached to, caressing it softly while giggling.

“Okay. So problem has been solved, right? Kids, let’s go back to class now!”

“Yes, Miss Dara!” answered Jiyong and Little Seunghyun, jumping out from the bed at the same time.

 

*

 

Youngbae and Daesung were the ones in lunch duty that day. When Little Seunghyun and Jiyong returned to the class, both of their friends were busy distributing pudding to all kids in the class—there were 14 of kids in total. Meanwhile, Miss Dara left after taking them to the classroom because she had to help the kitchen after lunch time.

“Little Seunghyun!” Jinwoo waved his hand upon seeing his friend entering the class. “We have strawberry pudding for dessert!”

“Oh!” The tiny kid’s eyes were enlarged in excitement. “Come, come, Jiyong. Let’s have lunch then eat pudding together!” He pulled the other kid towards the empty chairs occupying the same table with Jinwoo and other kids, Mino and Jiwon.

There were three tables in different colors placed in the classroom: red, yellow, and green. Each table was occupied by four to five children and the one Little Seunghyun and Jiyong shared was painted in red. Big Seunghyun shared the yellow table with Youngbae, Daesung, Seunghoon, and Hanbin. Meanwhile, the green table was shared among the girls: Chaerin, Hayi, Soohyun, and Jisoo, as well as Miss Bom herself.

“Little Seunghyun,” Youngbae smiled at the tiny boy while handing two cups of pudding. “They are for you.”

“Eh? Why two?”

“That’s from Big Seunghyun,” Daesung, whose task was to pull the small cart containing the puddings around the class, added. “He…”

“I’m sorry,” cut the tall kid. “I’m sorry… for saying bad thing about… your… uhhh…” The boy fidgeted and anyone around him could see how his cheeks turned beet red.

“He wants to say that your new panda backpack is actually cute,” Daesung added. The kid with plump lips and small eyes turned his head to Seunghyun, who also happened to be his neighbor. “Right, Seunghyun?”

Youngbae, whose eyes were as small as Daesung’s, was still smiling. “And he gives his pudding for you. Right, Seunghyun?”

Seunghyun only nodded while his eyes kept avoiding the Little Seunghyun.

Little Seunghyun smiled widely from ear to ear—strawberry, after all, his most favorite thing on Earth, aside from panda. “Uwaaaaahhh!!! Thank y—”

“No,” Jiyong took the cup of pudding and gave it to Youngbae. “No. Little Seunghyun, don’t accept this. Here,” he pushed his own pudding towards the boy sitting next to him, “take my pudding.”

“But… Jiyong… then you cannot have a pudding?” The confusion was clearly seen through Little Seunghyun’s eyes as he accepted Jiyong’s pudding in hesitation.

“Right!” The same confusion also beamed from Youngbae, whose hand was still holding Big Seunghyun’s pudding. “And what about Seunghyun’s pudding? Who will eat it?”

“ME!” Mino immediately raised his body off the chair. “ME WILL EAT IT!!! Me want more pudding!!!”

“Mino, it should be ‘ _I will eat it. I want more puddings_ ’,” called Miss Bom from the green table. “And what are you doing, boys? Haven’t you started eating yet?”

“Miss Bommie, Seungh—hmpfff!!!”

Little Seunghyun answered loudly, while his hand clasping Jiyong’s mouth. “Nothing, Miss Bommie. We will start eat soon… I mean, we will start eating soon!”

“Alright, boys. Eat well and nicely, okay? Seunghyun, Youngbae, and Daesung, go back to your chair now!”

“Yes, Miss!” The three of them answered, but Big Seunghyun still refused to leave the spot where he was standing. Rather, he snatched the pudding from Youngbae and shoved it to Little Seunghyun stubbornly.

“No,” whispered Jiyong.

“But I give my pudding for Little Seunghyun. And Little Seunghyun accepts it, right?” Seunghyun insisted.

While Big Seunghyun and Jiyong glaring at each other, Little Seunghyun furrowed his eyebrows. He wanted extra pudding, but if he did, it was possible for Jiyong and Seunghyun to fight again; Little Seunghyun hated seeing people fighting, especially when it was because of him. Then an idea came across his mind as he rounded his eyes, saying, “Oh!”

The other little boys—including Jinwoo and Jiwon—were staring at Little Seunghyun, except for Mino who didn’t stop looking at the extra pudding with his mouth wide open.

Jiwon, who sat across Little Seunghyun, mouthed quietly, “Quick, or Miss Bommie will scold us because we don’t start eating!”

“Big Seunghyun, thank you. Jiyong, thank you. But I will not accept your pudding so all of us can eat it. That is the most good… I mean, that is the best thing, right? So everyone is happy!” The tiny kid returned the puddings to their owners, who were still surprised to hear what he had just said.

Daesung pulled Seunghyun’s hand, while the other hand did the empty small cart. “Come on, Seunghyun. Let’s eat.” Youngbae had walked ahead, unable to resist the smell of roasted chicken bites once he realized how hungry he was.

“Little Seunghyun,” called Big Seunghyun before Daesung dragged him. “I… I will bring strawberry pudding for you tomorrow. Okay?”

Even so, Jiyong was the one who answered him. He put his tongue out, wrinkling his face mischievously. “No. I will buy it for Little Seunghyun tomorrow!”

 

*

 

Jiyong covered himself with his favorite blue blanket and then turned his body sideways, facing Little Seunghyun, whose eyes were getting heavy and heavier. He smiled, and got a sleepy stare as a return from the little kid he liked so much.

“Am sweepy…” Little Seunghyun yawned and put his thumb into his mouth, sucking it while his free hand touched the dinosaur-patterned plaster on Jiyong’s cheek. The small kid had laid on the pastel colored mattress only a few minutes but his favorite panda blanket was no longer covering him properly. But Jiyong didn’t try to fix it because he knew Little Seunghyun preferred to sleep like that, with the black and white blanket messily wrapping his legs only.

“Me too, Little Seunghyun…” Jiyong’s eyes stared at the small kid’s drowsy eyes and simply smiled upon seeing Little Seunghyun’s manner to lull himself to sleep; blanket aside, he liked to suck his thumb and will automatically stopped when he was already deep in his sleep.

Little Seunghyun’s mouth opened widely as another big yawn slipped out from it. “Jiyong… tell me a stowwy…” he whispered, because he didn’t want to disturb other kids as the room was already filled with soft breathes of sleeping children around him.

“What story?” asked Jiyong in the same soft whisper.

“The same story you always tell me…” Little Seunghyun smiled once again, and this time, Jiyong could see the tint of rosy red blushing the pale cheeks.

Jiyong held Little Seunghyun’s forefinger as he started the kid’s favorite bedtime story during the nap time. “The first day of school, I saw a little kid who entered the class… He almost cried because his mommy did not go into the room with him. The little kid was wearing a white jacket with panda… panda head cover?”

“ _Hood_ , Jiyong,” Little Seunghyun took out his thumb from his mouth. “It is called _hood_.”

“Right, panda hood. Well…” Jiyong snickered upon hearing the smacks Little Seunghyun made when the small kid had put his thumb into his mouth once again. “Well… the little kid looked scared. Maybe because he was soooooo small.” He pulled the finger he was holding closer to him and moved his hold to Little Seunghyun’s pinky finger. “Maybe as small as your little pinky, Little Seunghyun…

“The little kid did not talk to anyone and I could see his eyes were wet. I was sure he would really, really cry so I came to him. I held his hand, like this,” Jiyong slipped his fingers between Little Seunghyun’s tiny fingers and clasped the hand firmly, “and took him to sit with me. We sat on blue chairs. We still sit on the chairs until now, right?” He put the holding hands on the space between their face.

Little Seunghyun might look so sleepy, but he was all ears and nodded his answer—with the thumb still in his mouth, of course.

“I looked at him, because I worried that the little kid did not say anything to me. I was afraid that he would cry, because I did not want to look him cry—”

“Hngg!” Little Seunghyun shook his head abruptly, mumbling a complaint. “Jiyong, it is ‘ _I did not want to see him cry_ ’.”

“I did not want to _see_ him cry. But the little kid smiled. His eyes were still wet, but he smiled soooooooo wide—”

“‘ _Widely_ ’, Jiyong…”

“Yes, he smiled soooooooo widely. He asked, ‘Friend? Will you become my friend?’ Then I nodded and I said, ‘Of course we are friends!’ Then I told him my name, ‘I am Kwon Jiyong. You can call me Jiyong. J-I-Y-O-N-G.’ Because mommy had taught me how to spell my name before I could go to school. I asked him, ‘What’s your name?’ And the little kid said…”

“My name is Lee Seunghyun. S-E-U-N-G-H-Y-U-N!” The tiny boy, even though he cut his friend quietly, jerked his head in an enthusiasm that was plain to see. “That little kid in your story is me!”

Jiyong released his hand from Little Seunghyun’s hold and patted the blushing, chubby cheeks gently. “Right, Little Seunghyun. The little kid is you.”

“What…” Little Seunghyun sucked his thumb, “what happwened next?”

“The little kid then took something from his backpack. He gave me chocolate because…”

“Because mommy told me to give chocolate to my friend!”

“Yes, because I am your friend. The little kid gave me chocolate, then suddenly he fell from the chair. But he did not cry!”

“Of course I did not cwryyyy….” Little Seunghyun yawned. “I am stwrrong!”

“Right! Little Seunghyun, you are a strong baby! Eh… I mean a strong kid! Well, the little kid did not cry, but he looked veeeeeeerrrryyyyyyy sad because the chocolate also fell and someone stepped on it. But I was angry. I looked at the kid who pushed the chair and there was a big kid there. He was Choi Seunghyun—I could read his name on the nametag because mommy taught me how to read! The big kid has the same name with the little kid, but Big Seunghyun is naughty. Little Seunghyun is nice. I said to Big Seunghyun to say sorry to Little Seunghyun, but he not want to… he did not want to. I did not like to see Little Seunghyun sad so I hit his hand!”

“Then you fought Big Seunghyun, Jiyong. And you still fight him until nooooooowwww…” Little Seunghyun yawned the last word and his eyes were getting heavy and heavier; he snuggled towards Jiyong.

Jiyong put his hand on Little Seunghyun’s cheek and gave the small kid a serious look on his face. “Because I reaaaaaalllyyy hate to see Little Seunghyun sad. I really like Little Seunghyun’s smile, so I will protect it.”

Little Seunghyun took his thumb out from his mouth and leaned his face closer to his favorite friend. He gave Jiyong a small kiss on his forehead like he always did whenever Jiyong finished the same story before they took a nap in the classroom. “Jiyong,” he whispered after he laid his head on the pillow once again, “we will always be fwiends, right?”

“Yes. I promise, Little Seunghyun…”

Jiyong’s eyes were the last thing the tiny kid saw before he drowsed, mumbling words he had no any idea what the meaning was… yet.

 

*

 

“Jiyong!”

The boy mumbled unclear words from his lips, refusing to open his eyes.

“Jiyong!”

“Mom, lateeeeeerrrr…”

“Jiyong, it’s me… Little Seunghyun!”

“Uh?” The little boy tried to his heavy eyes with all his might. “What happwened, Little Seunghyun?”

“He-help me…” Little Seunghyun mouthed quietly and a sob followed his whisper afterwards; enough to get Jiyong fully awake.

Jiyong sat up straight on the mattress, rubbing his eyes while occasionally glanced at the pale little boy, whose eyes were teary and lips were trembling. “What’s wrong? Did you have a bad dream? Did Big Seunghyun say bad thing again?”

Little Seunghyun, kneeling next to him, shook his head immediately, but he still kept his silence. His hand kept tugging the sleeve of Jiyong’s _Captain America_ T-shirt relentlessly, though, while his teary eyes screamed louder than words.

“You want me to… to follow you?” asked Jiyong.

A nod told Jiyong a ‘yes’ and Little Seunghyun abruptly stood up; his hands quickly grabbed Jiyong when the tiny pale kid nearly fell. “Be careful,” whispered Jiyong as he held Little Seunghyun’s hand. “Where are we—?”

The tiny, pale hand led Jiyong quietly while the owner put his forefinger in front of his mouth, gesturing him not to create any noise. Together, they tottered amidst the sleeping little kids—Daesung and Big Seunghyun had their feet on each other, Mino mumbled food names with drool dripping from the corner of his mouth, and Seunghoon slept with a widely open mouth—and headed to the open sliding door that led them to an empty corridor.

Once they reached the corridor, Little Seunghyun literally dragged Jiyong towards the direction that led them to the bathroom, still saying nothing. Meanwhile, the other kid was left openmouthed since he couldn’t manage to let any word slip out from his lips with him being dragged around like that.

Even though they were heading to the bathroom, apparently it was not their final destination. There were three rooms that separated the classroom from bathroom: a storage room, a display room, and an empty room the kids and teachers often used to exercise when the weather was too cold. The room they headed to was located near the bathroom and Jiyong didn’t have to read the sign to know that it was the display room.

The display room was painted in white, but it was colorful thanks to the crafts the children and teachers had created. It was used to display the handcrafts made previously, since the most recent ones were shown on a shelf in the classroom. They were stored there for a few months before being brought home or donated. Jiyong’s painting of Iron Man and Hulk was displayed on the wall; it was his favorite. Meanwhile, Little Seunghyun’s painting of a bunch of pandas eating strawberries were hung next to his.

“Ji-Jiyong… what should I do?” Little Seunghyun sobbed, finally unable holding his tears any longer. The teary eyes Jiyong saw earlier had released the streams of tears rolling down his chubby, pale cheeks once they stood in front of the colorful open shelves.

“D-don’t cry, Little Seunghyun…” Jiyong’s eyes rounded in fear upon seeing Little Seunghyun crying. “Wha—”

Little Seunghyun’s forefinger pointed at the floor, gaining Jiyong’s attention at once. As the tiny kid finally let out his whimpers, the other little boy was left open-mouthed upon seeing what his favorite friend showed.

Something that used to be blue container had turned into pieces. Without being told, Jiyong already knew that was one of the clay containers he and other kids had made a few weeks earlier—aside from the fact that the scattered piece was found around the shelf where other clay vases were placed.

Even so, one thing that startled Jiyong the most was that he was fully aware whose vase Little Seunghyun pointed at: it was Big Seunghyun’s. And any kid knew how proud Big Seunghyun was of his clay vase because it was the biggest—like the kid himself—and the best. The big kid hadn’t stopped yapping about his vase for days and kept saying that he would ‘bring it home and keep it forever until I become an adult’, quoting his words.

No wonder Little Seunghyun lost his calm; he had to fear that what he had done would hurt Big Seunghyun.

“I… I saw the door opened after I got out fr-from the bathroom. Then… then I entered the room…” The shaky voice slipping out from the tiny boy was nearly as quiet as a whisper, with hiccups occasionally cutting in. “I-I al… always like Big Seunghyun’s vase. It is… is so beautiful so I-I wanted to see it. I t-t-t-touched it and… and then… Jiyong… wha-what… what should I do?”

Jiyong turned his head sideways and found Little Seunghyun’s teary eyes staring back at him, looking helpless. He clenched his fists, unable to resist the weird feelings that attacked him at once upon hearing the cheery voice he so get used to hear might sound so… differently. He had no idea what kind of weird feelings he was having, but that felt worse from when he saw Little Seunghyun being sad after Big Seunghyun telling him how ugly his new plush panda backpack was earlier.

Whatever the feelings were, they left Jiyong with the same helplessness that made him want to protect Little Seunghyun even more. So he reached out his hands, wiping the tears streaming down from the tiny kid’s eyes, and whispered, “Don’t cry, Little Seunghyun. I will protect you. I promise.”

The little head nodded and quickly threw his body to his friend, burying his face on Jiyong’s shoulder and muffling his cry. The tiny body, clad with light blue long-sleeved t-shirt, was shaking under Jiyong’s wrap.

“Ssshhh…” The gentle pats on Little Seunghyun’s back tried to assure the kid that everything would be fine. “It’s okay, Little Seunghyun. It’s okay. Let’s wash your face and return to the class, okay?”

 

*

 

“But I cannot lie. Lying is… not good, right?”

Jiyong stared at Little Seunghyun as they were lying sideways, face to face, like they had always done. He studied the tiny kid’s face; the white of his eyes was still red after crying and the mucus was still forcing its way to slide from the nostrils, causing Little Seunghyun to breathe rather heavily. Even though there were no tears rolling down his cheeks anymore, Little Seunghyun’s voice was still croaky.

After washing Little Seunghyun’s face in the bathroom, both kids managed to return to the classroom without triggering any unwanted attention. The other kids were still sleeping—Mino still talked in his sleep with the mention of chocolate cake and banana ice cream, Seunghoon had finally closed his mouth, Big Seunghyun and Daesung’s feet were attached to Youngbae, and the latter slept like a stone as if the extra weight of two pairs of feet had nothing to do to disrupt his nap—and the teachers were still nowhere in sight.

“I know, Little Seunghyun… but you will not lie. Don’t worry.”

The pair of bright chocolate eyes rounded in fear. “But… but how? Miss Dara and Miss Bommie will ask us and other kids about the… the… the _vase_ ,” Little Seunghyun mouthed the last word anxiously.

“Because you will not say anything. Okay?”

“But Jiyong—”

A soft caress on Little Seunghyun’s cheek shut the tiny boy at once as Jiyong smiled. “Now you should sleep again so Miss Bommie will not think there is something weird. Don’t worry, Little Seunghyun. I have promised to protect you. Right?”

The rounded eyes of Little Seunghyun still stared into Jiyong’s chocolate orbs as the pale little kid didn’t mutter any single word. He still felt the graze on his cheek and his hand stretched out, fingers touching the dinosaur-patterned plaster on Jiyong’s face.

“Jiyong, thank you…”

 

*

 

But Little Seunghyun couldn’t sleep, neither did Jiyong. They merely ended up closing their eyes, forcefully shutting them since they thought the other shouldn’t see them still awake. Seconds passed into minutes, and although it was no longer than half an hour, both little kids thought they had been closing their eyes for years and even longer. Only each of them and God knew how relieved they were when Miss Bom lightly shook their body, waking the little boys up.

Jiyong opened his eyes; Little Seunghyun’s bright, rounded eyes were the very first thing he saw and a small nervous smile was the second. The boy wouldn’t lie that the idea that came across his mind when Little Seunghyun begged for his help earlier didn’t make him uneasy, but he didn’t want to make the tiny, pale kid worry about him.

“I’m scared,” mouthed Little Seunghyun without a voice.

“Don’t worry,” Jiyong patted Little Seunghyun’s cheek. “Don’t worry.” He forced a smile, hoping that his favorite friend wouldn’t notice that he was very, very anxious. But Little Seunghyun’s smile still remained, and that made Jiyong feel better.

A gentle touch on their body drew their attention away from each other. “Kids,” Miss Bom called them, “It’s time to go home. Let’s get ready until your mother pick you up, Little Seunghyun. And your mother has come for you, Jiyong.”

“Yes, Miss.” Jiyong nodded and sat up on the mattress. He yawned, pretending as if he was still sleepy while the sleepiness actually had abandoned him way earlier. His heart didn’t stop throbbing, which made him feel worse.

Little Seunghyun didn’t keep his stare off of him; Jiyong was fully aware of that. That was why he tried to occasionally glancing at the tiny boy when both of them were struggling with their blanket, trying to fold up the fabric. When Jiyong was walking towards his compartment on the colorful cube storage—the one in which the kids put their belongings such as bag and jacket—Little Seunghyun followed him, regardless of the fact that the smaller kid’s compartment was next to his.

A tug on the sleeve of Jiyong’s jacket once he wore it turned the kid’s head sideways, meeting Little Seunghyun’s eyes. “I’ll go home now, Little Seunnghyun. See you tomorrow!”

“Jiyong…”

Jiyong put his hands on Little Seunghyun’s rounded cheeks, squeezing them until the other kid puffed air out from his mouth with his lips jutting. “You do not have to worry. Okay? Smile now, Smile!” With that, Jiyong pinched the cheeks and stretched them towards the ears, forcing Little Seunghyun to smile.

And that was what the tiny kid was doing.

 

*

 

The next morning found Jiyong entering the daycare with a loud wailing coming through the walls. After giving his mother a hug and bowing to Miss Dara, who was greeting the children that morning, he ran hastily towards the classroom—like crescendo, the scream he heard got louder eventually with each step taking him closer to the room.

He slide the door open and the very first thing he saw was Big Seunghyun throwing tantrum on the floor and screaming unclear words with other children doing nothing but looking at him. Miss Bom and Mr. Yang were trying to calm the crying kid, only to no avail.

“What happened?” asked Jiyong to Chaerin, who was hugging Hayi—the latter was shaking under the taller girl’s embrace, too scared and bewildered upon seeing Big Seunghyun throwing frenzy.

“It’s okay, Hayi. Don’t be scared; Big Seunghyun is not angry at you…” The girl didn’t stop patting the trembling back as she whispered reassuring words on Hayi’s ear. Chaerin stole a glance at Jiyong, mouthing her answer without releasing the wrap around the smaller girl. “Big Seunghyun entered the display room and saw his vase broken.”

“Oh!” Jiyong’s mouth turned into an ‘o’, pretending that he was surprised to hear about that, while his heart was throbbing relentlessly. “That… that’s bad…”

“Yeah—ssshhh, Hayi, don’t cry…” Chaerin’s attention was focused on the other girl as Hayi started to sob. “I swear I will hit the kid who broke Big Seunghyun’s vase, because the bad kid has made Hayi cry.”

Chaerin’s threat was no louder than a whisper, but that was enough to make Jiyong scared: Chaerin might be a girl, but she was very, very strong. She once fought Big Seunghyun after the boy ruined her cupcake when they had a cooking class—the boy said it was unintentional, but Chaerin still hit him anyway. So they fought, and guess who won?

The memory of Big Seunghyun’s swollen cheek was enough to send shiver down Jiyong’s spine, making him want to reconsider the plan he had been having in his mind since the day before.

However, when he saw Little Seunghyun’s hand holding his and the pair of bright eyes he adored so much staring back at him a moment later—Little Seunghyun had to had sneaked his way to his side quietly or Jiyong had to be too occupied by the fear of tasting Chaerin’s fist on his face—he knew what he should do.

“Good morning.” Jiyong forced a smile.

An uneasy smile was formed on the pale, chubby face. “Good morning, Jiyong…” The eyes wavered, and right when Little Seunghyun opened his mouth, Mr. Yang’s voice interrupted them.

“Move aside, kids,” said the man while struggling himself to carry Big Seunghyun, who was jerking his body ruthlessly to any direction and still screaming.

Both Jiyong and Little Seunghyun, without releasing each other’s hand, stepped aside and Big Seunghyun’s flailing legs were the thing Jiyong kept staring at as Mr. Yang carried him to the direction where the infirmary was.

“Kids!” The call from Miss Bom managed to get Jiyong’s attention—and Little Seunghyun’s apparently, as both of them finally realized that they were the only ones still standing while the other kids have seated themselves. “Jiyong, Little Seunghyun, take your bags and jacket off, and put them in your box. We will start soon.”

“Yes, Miss,” answered Jiyong quietly.

The grip on Jiyong’s hand was getting tighter and he could feel how cold Little Seunghyun’s hand was.

 

*

 

Unlike the other days, the atmosphere was unmistakably different that morning following the frenzy. Even though Big Seunghyun was no longer there and his scream was no longer heard, it seemed like the kid was still there, throwing his tantrum.

Jiyong’s fingers fidgeted and twisted the hem of his red t-shirt, and he didn’t dare himself look at Little Seunghyun. As he quickly scanned the room, the other kids showed similar bewildered expressions even though their lips were pursed tightly, muttering voiceless words.

Miss Bom and Miss Dara’s stare made him uneasy; just like their students, both young women didn’t mutter any single word either as they were patiently waiting for the kids to answer the question asked earlier: “Who broke Big Seunghyun’s vase or knows who broke it?”

The uncomfortable silence still lingered after a few minutes later and Jiyong could hear the ticks and tocks from the wall clock. Any kind of sound he could hear—even as quiet as Jiwon’s snore—was like a loud thud in his ear.

“Kids,” Miss Bom called them quietly. “This is the last chance for you to answer. Who br—”

Jiyong abruptly raised his body off the blue chair. “Miss!”

“J-Jiyong!” Little Seunghyun squealed, but Jiyong didn’t look at the other kid; he collected all his might to stare at his teachers.

“Miss Bommie, Miss Dara… I,” Jiyong gulped and tightened his fist. “I did it…”

“YOU!!!”

Everyone’s stare was quickly averted to the direction where the shout came from: Big Seunghyun, with his puffy eyes and red nose, was standing on the door opening. His eyes were enlarged and nobody would mistake the gaze as anything but anger.

Only in a flash moment, Big Seunghyun rushed towards Jiyong and hit the other boy unrelentingly. Unlike before, Big Seunghyun didn’t scream, even though streams of tears were rolling on his cheeks once again. And unlike what Jiyong might have always done, he stayed quiet and didn’t hit Big Seunghyun back.

Everything happened like flashes of memories for Jiyong. All he could feel and remember was how hard each hit and slap he received from the angry, bigger kid and how tight Miss Dara’s hold on his shoulders as the teachers tried to separate them.

But Little Seunghyun’s teary eyes were one thing he could clearly remember, as well as his trembling lips; Jiyong shook his head, hinting the smaller kid not to say anything.

“It’s okay,” Jiyong mouthed the word as quiet as possible before he was pulled away from the room by his hand.

 

*

 

The white slippers and cream floor tile were everything Jiyong could see, along with Miss Bom’s legs and the fluffy pink bunny slippers she was wearing. The kid didn’t dare lift his gaze and his small fingers were busy twisting the hem of the t-shirt he was wearing.

_Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap_. Jiyong saw the pink bunny’s head wrapping Miss Bom’s left foot tapping the floor in a certain rhythm. _Up and down. Up and down. Up and down. Up and down. Up and down_.

A long sigh was the next thing the little boy heard, and he stubbornly still lowered his head.

“Jiyong,” called the teacher still in the same calm tone, even though the gesture she was showing told differently, especially the taps her foot made. She sighed, again. “Jiyong, what happened? Did you break Big Seunghyun’s clay vase because you fought him yesterday? Or did you do it accidentally?”

The little boy was still mulishly in silence. Even so, what Miss Bom didn’t know was how much Jiyong actually wanted to say that he didn’t do it, that it was _Little Seunghyun_ who had broken the clay vase. The fear from lying to his teacher was piling up in his small chest, but Jiyong kept telling himself not to get Little Seunghyun in a trouble.

“Jiyong, are you not going to tell me the truth?”

_Thirty five, thirty six, thirty seven…_ Jiyong counted the number of taps Miss Bom’s foot created, pinning his gaze on the pink bunny’s head.

“Jiyong, if you don’t want to tell me anything, I’m afraid I cannot allow you to return to the class today. Do you really want it?” Even so, another voiceless response was what she got from the little kid who was sitting on a chair in front of her. Miss Bom sighed, again and again. “Okay, so you’ll stay in the teacher room for the rest of the day, Jiyong. Think about what you have done and I wish you’ll be ready to tell everything the next time I return to this room.”

Miss Bom raised her body and left Jiyong alone in the room, sliding the door closed behind her. The empty teacher room, surprisingly, brought relief to the little boy as he jumped out from the chair he was sitting on and snugged himself under Miss Bom’s desk.

The cold floor tile touched his cheek, sending chill throughout his body. “Jiyong, you have to protect Little Seunghyun,” he whispered to himself. “Jiyong, you have to protect Little Seunghyun. Protect Little Seunghyun. Protect Little Seunghyun. Protect Little Seunghyun.”

Those words were like a chant to the little boy and he didn’t stop reciting them until he felt how heavy his eyes were and saw Little Seunghyun’s smile greet him instead of the darkness.

 

*

 

Meanwhile, in the classroom, Little Seunghyun had been acting weird. He might be smaller than most of the kids in the class—Hayi was the only kid who was at least as small as Little Seunghyun—but he wasn’t the clumsy kind. But that day, he had been toppling things and didn’t even give the proper response when Miss Dara called his name.

The teacher had been asking Little Seunghyun if he was feeling sick upon seeing how unusually quiet the little kid was, but the boy stubbornly refused to be taken to the infirmary. Even so, Miss Dara could easily see how Little Seunghyun kept losing his focus—he didn’t answer when being called, was unable to answer the question she asked, and averted his gaze to the table all the time.

“Little Seunghyun, you okay?”

The kid whose name was being called blinked and the first thing he noticed was Jinwoo’s doe eyes staring into him in a close distance—the other kid was sitting on the table to get closer to him. Little Seunghyun opened his mouth, but he lost his train of thought so he lightly shook his head. “I’m okay, Jinwoo.” He felt the corner of his lips elevated as if he was forming a smile, even though the little boy didn’t feel any kind of emotion he always had when he was smiling.

The next thing Little Seunghyun felt was something touching his forehead—a hand, apparently. The hand belonged to Jiwon, who was also supposed to sit across him. But Jiwon was already on the red table, next to Jinwoo. “Jinwoo, Little Seunghyun not sick. Forehead is not warm.”

“Maybe Little Seunghyun needs chocolate,” said Mino with his mouth covered with chocolate he was eating. “Here. One bite, Little Seunghyun! But only one!”

“Thank you, Mino. But… no…” His eyes look around him and he saw the other kids were also chatting to each other, even Big Seunghyun who was talking to Daesung loudly. No teacher in sight; it seemed like Miss Dara had left the class without him realizing it first. Or was it Miss Bom who gave them a lesson earlier?

“It is very qu… _quiet_ without Jiyong in class,” whispered Jinwoo.

“Um!” Mino nodded; a half-eaten bar of chocolate was still in his hand and at that time, his mouth had been fully covered by chocolate. “He usually will ask me to give him chocolate…”

Jiwon, already sitting on his own chair next to Jinwoo, groaned. “Jiyong is noisy, but no Jiyong makes Little Seunghyun not happy.”

“But Jiyong is naughty! Jiyong is bad boy!” snapped someone.

The kids who shared the red table together averted their attention to the kid who cut them. It was Big Seunghyun, who stood behind Jinwoo.

“Jiyong broke my vase so he must be punished!” The thick eyebrows framing Big Seunghyun’s eyes were slanted to the center, towards the wrinkle on the gap between his brows. “He must envy me because my vase is the most beautiful. And because I am stronger than him. I won yesterday when we fought.”

“But Jiyong is not a bad kid… he is noisy but Jiyong is nice. He always lets me borrow his crayons in drawing class…” murmured Jinwoo.

Mino only watched Big Seunghyun while licking his hand off, cleaning it from the chocolate.

Jiwon whirled around on his chair, looking at the bigger kid in his eyes as he raised his stare. “Jinwoo is right. Jiyong is not a bad kid.”

“He is!” Big Seunghyun insisted, raising his voice.

“No!” Jiwon shouted louder.

The bigger boy stomped his foot in annoyance, startling Jinwoo who shrieked in surprise. “JIYONG IS A BAD KID AND LITTLE SEUNGHYUN SHOULD NOT BECOME HIS FRIEND!!!”

“NOT!!!” Jiwon raised his body off the chair, his eyes were bugged out. “JIYONG IS NOT A BAD KID!!!”

Jinwoo, too bewildered to see two kids were shouting at each other near him, stuttered as his eyes wavered. “J-Jiwon… D-don’t… don’t scream…”

The other kid, however, was still glaring at Big Seunghyun, who was almost one head taller and way bigger than him.

“M-Mino… do something…” Jinwoo squeaked with fear thick in his voice, but the little kid he just called was still busy licking his fingers, not caring about his surrounding as food was the only thing he had in mind.

Big Seunghyun took one step closer to Jiwon, his eyes were rounded and brows disappeared behind the curtain of black fringes framing his round face. “Do you want to fight, Jiwon?”

Jiwon responded in silence, and Big Seunghyun was raising his arms, ready to push the smaller kid when a loud bang was heard, followed by Little Seunghyun’s scream.

“STOP!!!”

The bigger kid quickly turned his head sideways and his stare was met by Little Seunghyun’s teary eyes.

“Jiyong is NOT a bad kid… I-I…” a sob escaped from the trembling lips, “I am the bad kid…” His pale hand wiped the chubby cheek off from a stream of tears that rolled down, but more and more tears streamed down, wetting his face only in an instance. “Miss Dara, Miss Bommie, wh-what… what should I do?”

A soft pat turned Jiwon and Big Seunghyun’s attention away from sobbing Little Seunghyun to Miss Dara, who quietly stood near them. “Kids, go back to your chair, okay?”

Miss Bom walked around the table towards Little Seunghyun, hugging the kid who was sobbing. “Sssshhh…. Sssshhhh…. It’s okay, Little Seunghyun…”

“B-but I… I… Jiyong…” Little Seunghyun muttered as his voice was muffled by his teacher’s hug. He buried his face on the crook of Miss Bom’s neck, still sobbing and murmuring Jiyong’s name.

Jinwoo, seeing his friend weeping, eventually cried too. Luckily, Mino was no longer occupied by chocolate covering his fingers as he hurriedly walked towards Jinwoo and used his hand as his attempt to wipe away the rolling tears on the cheeks. “Mi-Mino… you… you haven’t washed your hand after licking it…” Jinwoo complained amidst the sob, to which the other kid responded by using the long sleeve of his t-shirt to replace his hand.

Little Seunghyun was still crying in Miss Bom’s hug and the other young teacher decided to take him to the infirmary with her so she could console him. However, with his head still rubbed gently by Miss Dara, the little kid shook his head. He lifted his stare, revealing his wet face and runny nose, whispering to both of his teachers, “Jiyong… he… did not… break Big Seunghyun’s vase, Miss…”

Miss Dara crouched down, leveling her stare with the little kid. Her voice was no louder than Little Seunghyun’s murmur as she whispered back, trying to fish out more from the crying kid Miss Bom was embracing, “And…? Did you know who did it, Little Seunghyun?”

The little kid nodded. “Can... can I meet Jiyong now, Miss? And… with… Big Seunghyun?

 

*

 

A light shook opened Jiyong’s eyes slowly, even though the kid’s mind was still wandering in a world where things were made from sweet things, clouds were soft cotton candy, and rivers were streams of chocolate.

“Jiyong!”

The voice was the one Jiyong knew _too_ well and he always loved to hear it. At that time, Little Seunghyun’s call had completely wiped the images of his dreamland out of his mind as he forced himself to stay awake and get up.

“Be careful!” shrieked Little Seunghyun, who quickly put his palm on the top of Jiyong’s head, preventing the kid from bumping it on the other side of the desk tabletop.

The sleepy boy rubbed his eyes and yawned as he tried to recollect his consciousness. “What… what are you doing here, Little Seunghyun? It’s still time for class, right? And why are your eyes so red? Do you cry?”

“I… I asked Miss Bom to see you, Jiyong.” Little Seunghyun stretched his lips, letting a smile formed on his face upon seeing his best friend who was still struggling to wake himself up. “And I… I cried… but I’m fine now…”

“Is it Big Seunghyun again? Or who?”

The small boy shook his head quickly. “No! No no no no!!! I… I cried, but Jiyong… But I am okay now. Don’t worry…”

“Are you alone? Where is Miss Bom?” Jiyong yawned, opening his mouth so widely, and Little Seunghyun giggled as he covered the open mouth with his hand. “What do… _did_ you learn in class?”

“Uhh… a new song… but I cannot remember it. We also learnt new words from alphabets, I think…”

“Eh?” Jiyong blinked—Little Seunghyun always enthusiastically paid attention to whatever their teachers taught them because new things fascinated him every time.

The tiny, pale boy squirmed rather uncomfortably on the spot he was sitting on, fully aware of Jiyong’s surprise. “Jiyong… umm… Big Seunghyun is—”

“Hey, Jiyong.” Another face popped out in front of Jiyong. “Why sleep here?”

“Big Seunghyun, the right sentence is ‘ _why do you sleep here’,_ ” the smallest of the three told the bigger kid.

Seeing Big Seunghyun, who was sitting cross-legged next to Little Seunghyun, wrinkles were formed on Jiyong’s forehead only in a split second. “What are you doing here?”

Little Seunghyun took a deep breath and blurted out everything at once. “Jiyong, I have told Miss Dara, Miss Bom, and Big Seunghyun that I… I broke the vase. Not you...”

“Yes. Little Seunghyun is right.” Big Seunghyun bobbing his head.

“And… and I have apo… _a-po-lo-gized_ to Big Seunghyun because I have broken his beautiful vase…”

The bigger kid sitting next to Little Seunghyun still bobbed his head.

Jiyong was still too confused and maybe too sleepy to fully understand what his favorite friend had just said. His stare was blank and nothing but blinking his eyes was everything he could do.

“So…” Little Seunghyun poked Big Seunghyun on his thigh with his forefinger, causing the latter to stop his nod abruptly.

“So…” Big Seunghyun continued, rubbing his nose with his thumb, and Jiyong could see how red Big Seunghyun’s cheeks were. “So… I’m sorry, Jiyong…”

The quiet, almost-like-a-whisper apology caused Little Seunghyun to lightly elbow the other kid. “Louder, Big Seunghyun!”

Big Seunghyun straightened his back, and even though he stubbornly slightly lowered his face, his voice did get louder. “Jiyong, I’m sorry because I hit you. You… you can hit me back if want… _if you want_.”

Jiyong, who was still baffled by the sudden change of situation, caught Big Seunghyun’s glance on his lowered face. “Uhh… o-okay…” He nodded briefly.

“And Jiyong,” another voice was heard and Jiyong saw another face appeared as Miss Bom crouched down behind Big and Little Seunghyun, “next time, don’t lie anymore. Understood? Lying is not good, right?” She smiled.

“But… but I… Little Seunghyun…” Jiyong ping-ponged his stare between his teacher and his best friend with his mouth slightly parted. “I… want to protect Little Seunghyun…” A soft touch got Jiyong’s attention; Little Seunghyun reached out his arm to hold his hand.

“Lying is not good, Jiyong… and you got problem because of me…”

Jiyong stared back into Little Seunghyun’s bright, light chocolate eyes, mumbling words only to hear himself saying nothing but so many ‘but’s. Then, another hand touched his other hand gently—it was Big Seunghyun’s.

“Hey, Jiyong. If you not lie, I would not hit you…”

“Big Seunghyun, it is supposed to be ‘ _if you did not lie’_ ,” said Miss Bom with the same smile that turned her eyes smaller still lingered.

Jiyong pursed his lips, saying nothing and simply nodding his answer.

The young teacher rose her body and Jiyong could only see her legs and the same fluffy pink bunny slippers from under the desk. “Let’s return to the class now? Kids?”

“Oh, wait!” Jiyong squealed, gaining attention from the other kids and his teacher. The boy glared at Big Seunghyun and pinched the hand that was still resting on Jiyong’s. The pinch wasn’t something too painful, but enough to surprise the bigger kid anyway.

“OUCH!!!” The bigger kid immediately pulled his hand away from Jiyong’s reach, rubbing the spot where Jiyong pinched him. “WHY??? MISS BOMMIE, LOOK WHAT JIYONG DID TO ME!!!”

The culprit, who was making his way out from the nook under the desk between his two friends by crawling, casually shrugged. “I pinch you because you hit me. And angry at me… _being angry_ at me.”

Little Seunghyun raised his stare to glance at Jiyong, who was stretching his arms towards him. The tiny kid smiled even wider, welcoming the hand he understood by heart would always give him a help whenever he needed one from his best friend.

“But it’s not my mistake when I hit you, Jiyong! I don’t know that you don’t break my vase!” The bigger kid rose and followed the two. “And I cannot be angry at Little Seunghyun!”

 

*

 

“Jiyong.”

“Hm?”

The smaller kid tightened his hold around Jiyong’s hand, lowering his gaze to stare at their intertwining fingers. Both of them were heading to the class after Jiyong helped Little Seunghyun wash his face in the bathroom because the runny nose Little Seunghyun had from crying had left dry, nasty mark on his face. “I am sorry… and thank you.”

“Why sorry?”

“Because you got hit by Big Seunghyun because of me… because you have— _had_ —to lie for me… because—”

“Hngg!!!” Jiyong shook his head at once as he abruptly stopped. “No, you do not have to sorry… _say_ sorry, Little Seunghyun!”

“But…”

“I promise to protect you. I do not like to see you sad. I want you to smile forever.”

“Jiyong…” The pale kid put his hand on Jiyong’s head once again, patting it gently. “Jiyong,” Little Seunghyun couldn’t resist himself from smiling as he looked at his best friend’s eyes, “but it is not… not fair… if you only protect me. We are friends, right?”

The head under Little Seunghyun’s hand nodded.

 “Then I must protect you too, Jiyong…” The smaller kid released his grip from Jiyong’s hand and brought his both hands to his friend’s cheeks, squeezing the cheeks like Jiyong did to him after Jiyong told him not to worry. “Friends protect each other, Miss Bommie said to me.”

“But…”

The squeeze on Jiyong’s cheeks were getting tighter until the boy huffed air out from his mouth, causing Little Seunghyun to giggle. “Miss Bommie said I had to take resp… respons… _re-spon-si-bil-i-ty_. That means I have to admit it when I do bad thing. And I should not lie.”

Jiyong didn’t say anything and only stared back at Little Seunghyun’s eyes. His hands slowly moved to the cheeks, squeezing them too. “Little Seunghyun.”

“Yes?”

“You are veeeeeeeeerrry brave. Like a knight in stories.”

A wide smile was formed on Little Seunghyun’s face with a tint of rosy red staining the pale, chubby cheeks. “Jiyong is veeeeeeeeeerrrryyy brave too!”

Jiyong showed his hand he had released from Little Seunghyun’s cheeks, gesturing his best friend to hold it once again. “Come on. We have lunch now!”

“And Big Seunghyun’s mom gave strawberry pudding for everyone!”

The two little kids resumed their walk and returned to the class. When they entered, Big Seunghyun was distributing the lunch meal along with strawberry pudding to every kid with the help from Seunghoon and Soohyun, who were in lunch duty for that day. Mino was gobbling his pudding—Big Seunghyun gave him two cups—and Youngbae was chasing Daesung as the latter apparently took Youngbae’s pudding. Hyuna, Hayi, and Chaerin were talking about new hair ribbon Hayi was wearing that day. Jiwon, Jinwoo, and Hanbin were busy yapping about their favorite cartoon.

“Little Seunghyun,” called Jiyong as both of them seated themselves on their chair.

“Yes?”

“I have a new story before sleeping. Do you want to listen to it?”

Little Seunghyun rounded his eyes, elated to hear about what his best friend was saying. “Oh? A new story? I want to listen to it!!! The story is about… what?”

Jiyong pinched the nose of Little Seunghyun’s little nose and grinned. “It is a story about a brave little kid. He loves to help his friends. And his name is Lee Seunghyun.”

“Jiyong, I want a story about two brave little kids. Their names are Kwon Jiyong and Lee Seunghyun. I think that is a more good—oh, I mean _better_ —story!”

“Okay, Little Seunghyun.” Jiyong rubbed his thumb on Little Seunghyun’s nose and both of them smiled at each other. A moment later, Miss Dara had returned to the class and asked the kids to sit so they could start having lunch together. Jiyong made a note in his mind that Big Seunghyun was not as bad as he always thought and Little Seunghyun would always be his very, very best friend.

 

**E N D**

 

 


End file.
